ON COMMON SENSE.

AN enquiry after common sense is of universal concern,

because it is a faculty which all men either are, or think themselves, possessed of. It is by no means necessary to determine, whether a sufficient quantity was at first bestowed upon every individual, or whether, as the learned agree that nature doth nothing in vain, she hath not wisely denied it to some, foreseeing they would never have any manner of occasion for it: we are certain, to whatever cause it must be ascribed, whether to corruption or original imperfection, that there are very considerable deficiencies among all ranks and degrees of people, and particularly among the learned of every profession. A great part of the writers upon man consider errors and deviations from common sense, which have ever been so numerous in the world, as so many unanswerable arguments of the weakness of human reason. I must confess, for my own part, that I am not quite so sanguine in my conclusions. Perhaps the argument is capable of being turned against them: at least I am firmly persuaded, that, whoever impartially examines into the history of learning, so far from being astonished at the smallness of our improvements, and the little certainty of knowledge to which we have attained, he will much sooner be tempted to admire, that there are any traces of common sense left in the world. And I think

we may gather from thence, a pretty clear proof of the strength of human understanding, just as it is the mark of an excellent constitution, that it is able to hold out against a great deal of physic.

The systems of the greater part of philosophers, not to say divines, have been so many batteries levelled against the natural sense and apprehensions of mankind. Yet after playing upon us with their whole artillery, and laying close siege to us for above two thousand years, they have only been able to make themselves masters of a few of the outworks; and the besieged have never made a sally, withdoing considerable damage. to some one or other of their erections. In this war between learning and sense, which bath been carried on so vigorously, and with such various success, the champions on both sides have signalized themselves with incredible zeal and valour, prodigies have been performed by the different heroes of each party, and, notwithstanding the immense consumption of ink and paper, and the many precious lives which have been lost, the contention seems to be as fierce as ever; only with this differ

ence, that the siege is at length turned into a blockade ; and our adversaries hope, by heaping up one work upon another, to cut off all communication between this little town and the rest of the world, and, by this means, starve it into a surrender. What hath greatly contributed to oppress and overpower the cause of reason, is, that learning hath always had a set of veteran troops at her command, some thousands deep, both in rank and file, a long tribe of venerable fathers and schoolmen,

'Sworn foes to sense, and obstinately wrong.'

Affairs being in this situation, it is extremely difficult for persons of honesty, who are prejudiced on neither side, to chuse their party. Neither do I think that it would be very advisable, provided it was safe or possible, to observe an exact neutrality. But matters are come to such a pass, that a man is in danger of being hooted at by every body, who doth not declare himself for one or the other. What then must be done? Must we consider the claims of both parties, and adhere to that which appears to have heaven and justice on its side? It would be tedious to enter into the grounds of the quarrel, and read over all the manifestos which have been published from time to time. But, perhaps, we may come to an easier decision of the cause.

As there is but one science in the world which pretends to strict demonstration for its support, so there is but one other, which, as we have been told, glories in running directly contrary to it. This proposition is demonstrated, and therefore I believe it, says a mathematician, This other is neither demonstrable, nor possible, says a divine, and therefore I believe it. I desire it may be taken notice of, that I have as much respect for true Christian theology, as any man alive ; over and above, I honour the man, be his profession what it will, who makes common sense the basis of his art. But though I have read over an hundred volumes, and in them twenty thousand quotations to the point, I could never yet, for my life, discern what recommendation it can possibly be to any opinion, that it is stripped of argument, and contradictory to the first principles of reason and common sense. If this is true, I am certain that the nature of evidence is turned upside down, and an history or proposition must acquire fresh degrees of credibility, in proportion as it is made more romantic or improbable; for we cannot avoid being reduced to this dilemma, when we quit the plain road of sense, and chuse human authority and enthusiasm for our guides. I cannot help con

sidering such a scheme of religion as directly contrary to the simplicity of the gospel ; and, with whatever appearance of humility, and confession of ignorance, it is advanced, as a part of that wisdom of the age which is foolishness with God. It is exceeding strange, that men who have any pretensions to reason, and the light of revelation, should make a merit of setting forth their faith as irrational, and their very wisdom as folly.

Of the same stamp is that other ridiculous assertion, that faith must triumph over reason; which seems to have been first set on foot by the Romish church; where, indeed, it was absolutely necessary to reconcile the minds of weak people to their extravagant doctrines. But it is not easy to see with what consistency Protestants, and the avowed enemies of priestcraft and imposition, can employ these or such like declarations. For God's sake, gentlemen, let faith and reason go hand in hand, or the necessary consequence, upon your own principles, will be that all the world must commence Atheists or madmen. What advantage can they propose to their cause, by setting the two lights of the world at variance? Do they think that human beings are so much more unit subjects of religion than brutes, that we can have no true piety as long as we keep our senses, nor admit the light of heaven, while the least spark of reason glows in our breasts? The gospel contains many commands for vanquishing our unreasonable passions and desires, but not a single precept for expelling reason, and subduing our common sense. Besides, there can be no such thing as a triumph of faith over reason, in the way they talk of: for either faith is supported by reason, and they will triumph together or else such invincible objections lie against any pretended doctrine, that the belief of it is absolutely impossible and in such a case, to say that faith can obtain a triumph over reason, which concludes fully against it, is the mere rant of enthusiasm.

What testimony, human or divine, could prove the doctripe of transubstantiation, which implies a direct contradiction, to be true? And how much cause hath a Roman Catholic to boast of victory, when he obstinately stands out against all the evidence which enables him to reject it? I remember an excellent remark of Monsieur Leibnitz, in his discourse upon the agreement of faith with reason; a subject which he manages very well for a disciple of Cartesius and St. Augustine. His words are these: But since reason is as much the gift of God as faith, to set them one against the other, would be opposing God to himself. 'And

if the objections of reason against any article of faith are really unanswerable, it is necessary to say that this pretended article must be false, and not revealed-a mere chimera of our own imagination; and the triumph of such a faith over reason, can be compared to nothing else but the triumph of the French over the English, when they sing Te Deum after a defeat.'

I think it very fit that such systems of religion and politics should go together, where they pair so nicely. But I wish to persuade my countrymen to adopt a manner of thinking more just, and more agreeable to the genius of Englishmen and Protestants, and to esteem it no disgrace to themselves, or their religion, to be able, in every thing, to give some reason of the faith and the hope which is in them. There are two sorts of men who always bear it asserted with pleasure, that Christianity and its doctrines will not stand the test of argument, and were-never intended to be tried by the measure of human understanding : these are the disguised Papists and Sceptics. The latter of these applaud themselves upon such wild concessions, and think nothing more can be wanting, to render the belief and the hope of Christians ridiculous. And the others have a fair occasion from thence, of over-running us once more with their tenfold delusions. For a small degree of penetration will teach us, that, to men who are in good earnest determined upon renouncing their reason, all nonsense will be equal. If we could possibly be in danger of a return of popery and arbitrary power, under the best constitution in the world, it must be from such representations as these, which help gradually to enslave the mind, sap the foundations of liberty and protestantism, and pave the way for the grossest absurdities.

For these reasons, if there were no other, we have just cause to be offended with those preachers, who from the pulpit, or in their writings, set up human reason as a bugbear, to frighten silly women, and make themselves the patrons of spiritual ignorance and implicit faith. But the truth is, we pay too much regard by half to the decisions of men, beset with the same passions and infirmities with ourselves, and who employ their learning and ingenuity to no better purpose than to invent arguments for setting aside the use of reason in the most momentous concerns of human life. Yet, perhaps, it will not be sufficient to set us right, that we quit the precepts of human authority, and keep clear of the bias of opinions, which time and long usage have rendered respectable; we must likewise mortify the old

woman within us, and lay aside those prejudices to which a corrupted taste in religion, if I may so call it, hath long habituated the mind. Could we once bring ourselves heartily to think, that it cannot possibly be any disparagement to the Christian faith to appear perfectly wise and consistent; or rather, that a scheme of religion which deserves the character with which it is marked to us, of the power and the wisdom of God, must certainly be the most reasonable thing in the world, we should entertain, with less aversion, the attempts of sensible and pious men, who labour to clear it of the errors with which it hath been loaded, and give it all its evidence and lustre.

To lay it down as a postulatum in theology, that we must judge of religion by maxims and principles which are exploded in common life, and allow reasonings to pass for solid and conclusive in matters of faith, which would be laughed at in any other business, must certainly be a remnant of that philosophy and vain deceit, which is after the traditions of men, and not after Christ. We see the blessed effect of such principles in our neighbour kingdoms, where ignorance and superstition walk hand in hand, and common sense, with Christianity, are almost banished. A state from which nothing but the favour of Providence, supporting the labours of honest-hearted, judicious men, friends to liberty and the rights of Christians, hath happily delivered our land. If a religion be divine, I take it for granted that it must be perfectly reasonable, as flowing from the first and most perfect reason: and if it be perfectly reasonable in itself, it is capable of appearing such to beings endued with reason and intelligence and, if this be the case, those persons do undoubtedly deserve the best of revelation and of mankind, who endeavour to set it in the most rational and consistent light, and to reconcile the difficulties and seeming contradictions which sometimes through unavoidable misapprehensions, sometimes through the false representations of ignorant or designing men, have perplexed the most simple, beautiful, and harmonious system in nature,

[Moral Magazine.*

We offer no apology to our readers for extracting the above sensible discourse from a work written in 1761.-Editor.